Breathing Life Into The Mundane

Breathing Life Into The Mundane

Coming to His home town, He began teaching the people in their synagogue. (Mt 13:54)

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53 When Jesus had finished these parables, he moved on from there. 54 Coming to his hometown, he began teaching the people in their synagogue, and they were amazed. "Where did this man get this wisdom and these miraculous powers?" they asked. 55 "Isn't this the carpenter's son? Isn't his mother's name Mary, and aren't his brothers James, Joseph, Simon and Judas? 56 Aren't all his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all these things?" 57 And they took offense at him. But Jesus said to them, "Only in his hometown and in his own house is a prophet without honor." Matthew 13:53-57 (NIV)

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I wonder what it was like to be the oldest brother in Mary and Joseph’s house.
I can hardly expect that the family meal was just a quiet, serene time. I wonder if
the sisters swiped each other’s clothes when they were going out, or if the brothers
always cleaned up appropriately after helping in the workshop. Maybe a valued tool
was carelessly handled from time to time as ‘hurry’ replaced ‘quality.’

There is some evidence to suggest that His brothers did not understand Jesus and
that they tried to influence Him to restrain Himself. It was only after the death and
resurrection of Jesus that we find His brother, James, stepping out in faith and
becoming a leader in the Christian church.

The Scriptures are quite silent on the family life of Jesus beyond two or three brief
glimpses. However, from these brief glimpses, we see a rather normal family life.
It would seem that Jesus experienced the same routines, responsibilities and
lack of appreciation that people complain about at the kitchen table today.

God the Son was there at the table in Nazareth. God the Son might have walked
down the lane toward the teacher’s house. God the Son shared the chores with the
other family members. God was there and the others didn’t fully appreciate it.
What a difference it would have made had they fully understood who was in their
midst, who was walking with them to school, who was sweeping the floor with
them and who it was who sat down with them each evening. In our church,
we sometimes sing a line before communion, which helps bring home the
fact of God and man sitting down together at the communion table.

Now that takes the mundane, the routine and the ordinary family and church
community responsibilities and brings excitement! God is with us. We are working
together. The good news of the Gospel is that Jesus came to give us abundant life.
When we live our lives in close fellowship with Him, the ordinary becomes
divine and the repetitious, mundane tasks can melt into times of happy
adoration with eternal significance.

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Heavenly Father, life seems to be so ‘daily.’ While there are times when I dream of
doing great things for You, it seems that, rather than soaring with the eagles, I am
limited to being earth-bound. My life is constrained by the routine responsibilities
and expectations of others. Please don't misunderstand. I love my family and
friends. I am able to get on from day to day and I not only have sufficient, I have
more than enough, when compared to many others. But, dear Lord, help
me to experience the excitement and flight that You intended when
You promised abundant life. Amen.

- Noel Churchman

Noel was the Executive Director of Christian Horizons form 1976 to 2001. The devotionals we will be using are from a book he wrote in 2005 called “Walking with God”. Noel’s reflections are grounded in his experiences as an educator, and provider of supports for individuals with exceptional needs as well as his life as a dedicated follower of Christ.